Picker for fly shuttle looms



April 18, 1933. KULLMAN 1,904,316

PICKER FOR FLY SHUTTLE LOOMS Filed April 26, 1929 Jt/rz? .213256' m on My;

Patented Apr. E8, 1933 UNETEE STATES LQME it PA @FEEQE ALFRED KULLMAN, 0F WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 GRATON & KNIGHT COMPANY, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS PICKER FOR FLY Application filed April 26,

This invention relates to a picker adapted to be mounted on a picker stick in a fly shuttle loom and to be positioned for engagement by the point of the shuttle as the shuttle is received in the shuttle box or as it is picked therefrom. Such pickers are commonly formed of leather or other shock-absorbing material and are subject to severe punishment under ordinary working conditions.

The pickers as heretofore commonly applied. have been provided with continuous shuttle-engaging faces, in which faces the loom fixer would sometimes make a slight depression or target with a knife as he applied the pioker to the loom. This depression or target merely acted as a guide for the point of the shuttle during the forward or power stroke of the picker and furnished no effective seat on which to receive the blow of the incoming shuttle.

The entire force of the shuttle blow was received on this small depressed area, spreading the leather about the depression or target, and very frequently splitting the leather at the side of the picker and thus destroying its further usefulness.

It is a general object of my invention to provide a picker in which a center hole or conical recess of predetermined shape is formed, which recess is accurately located in the face of the icker.

A further object is to provide a center hole of such sectional outline that the blow of the shuttle will be received at points definitely removed from the extreme point of the shuttle and correspondingly removed from the extreme bottom of the depression or recess.

My invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

A preferred form of my improved picker is shown in the drawing in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the picker;

Fig. 2 is a plan View thereof;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation with the picker in rearward position; and

Fig. 4 is an end View of the picker, looking in the direction of the arrow 4 in Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, I have indicated SHUTTLE Looivrs 1929. Serial No. 358,349.

a portion of a shuttle race 10, a picker stick 11 and a shuttle S having a point 12. My lmproved picker 20 is preferably formed entirely of leather and comprises an .outer strip 22 bent and molded to provide a loop 24 surrounding the end of the picker stick 11, and to provide a double thickness of leather along thesides and face of the body portion of the picker.

The inner part of the body portion may 6 preferably be formed of additional small pieces of leather 26, the whole being held together by one or more transversely extending rivets 28. The loop 24 is preferably formed with a slight downward taper or enlargement, so that it will accurately lit the end of the usual tapered picker stick 11. The picker is commonly held in place on the picker stick by inserting a Wood screw 30 at the rear thereof. The bottom face 32 of the picker is substantially beveled, as indicated in Fig. 1, so that the picker may clear the shuttle race 10 when in the extreme rearward position indicated in Fig. 3.

A conical center opening or recess 33 is of the shuttle point free from the bottom of 8 the center recess. The blow is thus received upon a surface of substantial area and the wedging action produced by driving the sharp point of the shuttle into the leather picker is avoided.

After the opening 33 is accurately formed,

the conical internal surface thereof is preferably subjected to a polishing operation, by

which a firm and durable working face is provided.

By actual test it is found that a picker provided with a substantial and accurate conical opening, as shown in the drawing, will have its useful life very greatly prolonged over the life of an exactly similar picker provided merely with the usual slight depression or target as commonly formed by the loom fixers knife.

Having thus described my invention and 5 the advantages thereof, 1 do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claim, but what I claim is A picker for use with a shuttle in a loom, said picker being formed of a plurality of strips of leather placed side by side and an elongated piece of leather wound about said strips and firmly secured thereto, said picker having an accurately formed conical recess in its shuttle engaging face of predetermined size, and completely surrounded by the solid material of the picker,and having its side walls at such \an angle as to be tangent to the shuttle point at a portion substantially spaced from the extreme end of saidshuttle pomt, and said extreme end being free from the sides of said conical recess at the deepest part of said recess when the shuttle point is fully seated in said recess. In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature. v I

ALFRED KULLMAN. 

